Jingri

The term spiritually Japanese people (; Japanese reading ''Sēshin Nihonjin''), abbreviated as ''jingri'' (), is a pejorative term used in political and social discourse in mainland China referring to people of non-Japanese descent who are perceived to hold extremist views in support of Japanese militarism while harbouring hatred towards their own ethnicity and seeing themselves "spiritually" as Japanese militarists. A neologism that developed out of online communities, ''jingri''s meaning and connotations are related to those of Japanophile.

Background

The increased prevalence of international cultural exchange in the modern world has increased the influence of foreign cultures, including Japanese culture, on certain segments of Chinese society. According to Chinese Communist theorists Yang Jinhua and Huang Chenchen, this has led to the rise of ''jingri'' who accord with the values and politics of Japanese society far more than they do China's, seemingly viewing China as merely an "accidental place of birth" while according Japan with the title of their "spiritual motherland". They seek to maintain a "Japanese-style" manner of living. Some internet celebrities seen as ''jingri'' have made statements or engaged in actions that express support for or present a romanticized image of Japan. These have included many forms of expression, including expression in the form of text, images, language choice, music, video media, and body language, up to dressing up as World War Two-era Japanese military officers. Among them have been those who hold unusual interpretations of the Nanjing massacre, with some even stating that "the apanese militarykilled too few people n Nanjing" This has incited anti-Japanese xenophobia in China. Some individuals who have praised Japan, labelled as supporters of the Japanese far right, have been violently attacked in public.

According to a Chinese-language BBC
...